High intensity LEDs have been utilized in a variety of lighting applications traditionally implemented with incandescent lamps, primarily due to their superior reliability and photonic efficiency. Typically, a field-effect transistor (FET) is used to control the LED current, and the FET is modulated ON and OFF by a pre-FET drive circuit under the control of a microprocessor. However, pre-FET drive circuits that include open-circuit and short-to-ground diagnostic capability typically require a leakage current in the range of 100 uA-200 uA when the LED is supposed to be OFF, and a leakage current of that magnitude is sufficient to make a high intensity LED glow perceptibly. This presents a problem, particularly in applications where the ambient light is low, such as in a vehicle being driven at night. While the open-circuit and short-to-ground diagnostic capability can be disabled to solve the leakage current problem, many LED lighting applications require fault protection and diagnostics. Accordingly, what is needed is a low leakage current LED drive apparatus that provides fault protection and diagnostics.